Shane Doan, who has insisted since July that he wanted to re-sign with the Phoenix Coyotes, but only if the club’s ownership situation was settled, signed a four-year, $21.2 million deal with the Phoenix Coyotes, whose ownership situation remains unsettled, because he wanted to make sure he had a contract before an NHL lockout.

Doan, who turns 36 in October, has been with the Coyotes since they moved to Phoenix following his rookie year in 1995-96 with the Winnipeg Jets. Last season, the winger captained the Coyotes to their first Pacific Division title, and their first trip to the Western Conference finals. His 22 goals were his most since 2008-09.

Shane Doan signed a new deal with the Phoenix Coyotes, just beating the expiration of the current collective bargaining agreement. (AP Photo)

The Buffalo Sabres reportedly offering the richest package at four years and $30 million. The Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, San Jose Sharks, and Vancouver Canucks all were mentioned as possible destinations for Doan during the course of his free agency.

When free agency opened on July 1, Doan said that he would wait a week before signing, to see how things worked out with the sale of the Coyotes. When that week passed by with no closure, Doan set another deadline, then another and another. Finally, on Friday, he found a deadline that mattered with the expiration of the CBA.

Doan reportedly had the deal in place with the Coyotes for weeks, which was why rumors about him quieted down as the summer went on. The franchise has been in limbo for three years, and earlier this week, Greg Jamison’s purchase of the Coyotes was thought to be in trouble when the city of Glendale, Ariz., expressed a desire to renegotiate terms of its arena deal with the club. On Thursday, the Phoenix Business Journal, Sporting News’ sister publication, reported that an agreement could be back on, with Jamison open to Glendale’s proposed changes.

While the Coyotes sale has reached believe-it-when-it-happens status, Doan knows what team he will be playing with for the rest of his career, even if he cannot be 100 percent sure where.